[am1m]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Cricket in my opinion has become a closed universe of its own like the NFL...It has not expanded beyond the initial 7-8 countries in terms of popularity.

Forget beyond the 7-8 countries, even within that small group there are only 3 countries where it's making some real money. From a pure business/revenue point of view, am sure none of the stakeholders will complain/care either. The NFL generates a ton of revenue just from one country. And they give two hoots about making American Football popular in Europe, or Asia, or wherever.

Cricket is already down that path- outside of India, I really don't see a growth pattern. So much so that even Australia wants to host India-Pak test matches now! And they freely admit it's because nothing else draws the crowd like the Indian cricket team.

With the Indian economy growing and millions more willing to embrace cricket entertainment there's a lot more that Indian cricket can be milked for decades. Even something obvious like merchandising is barely scratching the surface of what is possible yet. (I'm not speaking disdainfully, as some Test purist, just admiring the business model.)

[dragonfire]

Yesterday India created history by setting the world record for the highest margin of victory ever. But the match was played to an empty gallery, where nobody thought it worthy "wasting" a day watching cricket. Cricket today is like a bollywood movie - trimmed to 3 hours and named T20.

Test cricket has already died - not just the viewers, the players too don't want to waste 5 days on the field.

Good riddance. Cricket is a failed sport. They had been slowly killing it for decades now. Now it is cheap mindless entertainment. It is a batsmen's game today - power play overs, no bowling to the leg side, nothing above the shoulders.

Anyway I stopped following cricket the day I saw the great Kapil Dev cry on TV.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

Yesterday India created history by setting the world record for the highest margin of victory ever. But the match was played to an empty gallery, where nobody thought it worthy "wasting" a day watching cricket.

I am not sure the lack of spectators was solely due to cricket losing popularity. The government had increased the entertainment tax on the tickets, which led to some complaints. In response, the sports minister commented something along the lines that poor people need not turn up. There was some "Boycott Cricket" campaign on social media, if I understand correctly.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

I am not sure the lack of spectators was solely due to cricket losing popularity.

Yep, spectators in the stadium is rarely an indicator. The money is always made based on the the TV and streaming audiences.

Frankly, even with the absolutely pathetic spectator experience in most of our cricket stadiums (outside of the VIP and corporate experience areas), the fact that most T20 and ODI matches still see great numbers just indicates that cricket popularity in India is just fine.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

Yesterday India created history by setting the world record for the highest margin of victory ever. But the match was played to an empty gallery, where nobody thought it worthy "wasting" a day watching cricket.

Approx 16k spectators for the match. The stadium capacity is 40k+.

Out of this 16k, only 6k were paid tickets, balance 10k odd were spectators with passes.

We (4) wanted to go, but spending 8k for a ODI just did not make sense.

[Sowhatislife]

Interesting viewpoint from OP which has channeled a lively discussion.

In my view, the changes are also a reflection of the changing times. Cricket is evolving and adopting to the market conditions. Yes, there is a surfeit of matches which are often difficult to track. The purists may be appalled at some of the shots being played but one can not deny the innovation and skills displayed.

There are new segments attracted to watch the game, driven by the marketing and glitz. And the valuation of IPL teams continue to grow.

And yes, at times there are nail biting test matches which gladden the hearts of the old school followers. Not to mention Bazball; with 500 plus runs in a test day.

Reminds me of Bob Dylan : The Times They Are A-Changin'

[am1m]

Originally Posted by am1m

And they give two hoots about making American Football popular in Europe, or Asia, or wherever.

Correction, I was wrong about this. It does seem that the NFL has made several attempts to expand beyond the US:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_International_Series

(Still, the point remains that it doesn't seem very successful yet, and still the NFL is doing awesome financially with just the one US market, so nothing stopping cricket from just sustaining through the India-Eng-Aus market with multiple leagues. But in the interest of accuracy, this correction.)

[Emvi]

Like any other sport, cricket is a form of entertainment, and the quality of the game determines how enjoyable it is for the viewers.

I personally don't believe the passion for the sport is waning as far as international cricket is concerned. Matches / series involving top teams are played with same intensity as it was before IMO. However, I do agree that there is definitely an over-dosage of cricket, especially in the T20 format. This is primarily because of the ever increasing fanbase of the present generation who prefer T20 cricket more. The players are paid exorbitantly because of the commercial interests in the game which I think is normal given the popularity of the game. Without a speck of doubt, cricket still is the most popular sport in our country.

Currently Hockey World Cup is underway and India is hosting it. Not just that, the host nation is all set to face New Zealand tomorrow for the quarter-final spot! I'm really not sure how many of us the sports fans on the forum and outside are following it and are excited about India's prospects.

Do I need to say anything more!?